David Driscoll: R.I. makes right move for better schools

By David P. Driscoll

Friday

Sep 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM

MELROSE, Mass.Congratulations to Governor Chafee, the Rhode Island Board of Education, Education Commissioner Deborah Gist, and all Rhode Island teachers and students. You have made a wise decision regarding...

MELROSE, Mass.

Congratulations to Governor Chafee, the Rhode Island Board of Education, Education Commissioner Deborah Gist, and all Rhode Island teachers and students. You have made a wise decision regarding your new graduation requirements. I commend you for establishing a diploma system that holds students and teachers to high expectations, that provides flexibility to schools and school districts, and that will help to ensure that your graduates are ready for success.

I was honored to be invited to address the Board of Education on Aug. 25 at the board’s retreat, where I participated in a discussion about graduation requirements in your state. Like most states, Rhode Island requires students to complete a minimum number of courses in order to earn a diploma. Rhode Island is one of the few states that require students to show that they have achieved proficiency through a “performance-based” demonstration, such as a senior project. I commend Rhode Island educators for pioneering this concept, which for the past eight years or so has inspired students and engaged Rhode Island seniors in learning.

Rhode Island is now one of about 25 states to require that students also succeed on the state assessments in order to earn a high-school diploma. It is obvious to me, from my meeting with the Board of Education and from many conversations I have had with colleagues in your state, that this new graduation requirement has stirred some controversy. That’s hardly a surprise. In 2003, during my tenure as education commissioner, we went through the same controversy, perhaps even more intense, when we made success on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test a graduation requirement in Massachusetts.

People wrote letters, held rallies, staged protests and demonstrations. They attacked the test, and they attacked me. They were fearful that the MCAS requirement would force thousands of Massachusetts students to drop out of school. They were afraid the MCAS would destroy public education in our state.

I recognized their concerns, as we were heading into uncharted waters. But I also believed then — and believe now — that expecting students to meet a reasonable performance level on a standardized assessment would drive education reform and would serve the best interest of our students.

As in Rhode Island today, there was little consistency in course-taking patterns, course content, or grading practices across Massachusetts districts — or even within the same district. We had been awarding students diplomas on the basis of course completion alone, when it was clear that many graduates had not reached competency, let alone proficiency.

The introduction of the requirement that students succeed on the MCAS assessment was a key factor that dramatically improved instruction — providing much greater equity for students in high-poverty districts and traditionally underserved populations.

As you may know, by most measures, including proficiency levels on “The Nation’s Report Card” and graduation rates, Massachusetts is generally regarded as the highest-performing state in the country. Our proficiency rates have steadily climbed, and our dropout rate has diminished. The key to our success? We had a plan and we stayed with it. We could not have achieved the same results had we blinked or wavered — I’m sure of that.

Rhode Island stands at the same crossroads today. You have an ambitious, comprehensive strategic plan for transforming education, and the use of state assessments as one of your graduation requirements is a part of that plan.

Obviously, the use of state assessments alone will not dramatically improve student results. But state assessments are part of your overall system of school reform, which also includes transition to the Common Core State Standards, working with educators to align curriculum and instruction to these standards, implementing high-quality educator evaluations in every school, implementing ambitious turnaround plans for low-achieving schools, nurturing innovative charter schools and other public schools, and developing high-quality data systems to provide information to teachers and to families, to name just a few initiatives.

You have a terrific strategic plan that has helped Rhode Island earn two Race to the Top grants and that is sure to yield positive results.

Rhode Islanders, you are on the right course. Hold fast to your high expectations, provide students with the instruction and support they need for success, focus on the big picture, and continue working together in the best interest of your students. The Massachusetts success was no miracle. Similar results are totally within your grasp if you set your sights high and if you have the courage to hold steady.

David P. Driscoll is the former commissioner of education in Massachusetts and was at the helm when its graduation requirement went into effect.

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